title: Second-trimester maternal urinary gonadotrophin peptide screening for fetal Down syndrome in Asian women.
abstract: Maternal urinary gonadotrophin peptide (UGP) was recently found to be elevated in second-trimester Down syndrome pregnancies. There is controversy about its screening efficacy. Data in the Asian population are scanty. We measured the UGP levels in 29 Down syndrome pregnancies and 297 controls and expressed them as a ratio of the urine creatinine concentration. Median UGP MOM was elevated to 3.44 (95 per cent confidence interval 1.99-5.13) in cases, compared with controls. UGP values were widely scattered in cases and controls with extensive overlap such that only 35 per cent of Down syndrome cases were expected to be detected at a 5 per cent false-positive rate. The data of the present study and previous reports show that there is a wide variability of gestation-specific UGP median values. UGP alone does not appear to be an effective screening marker for fetal Down syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Hong Kong, Tsan Yuk Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000652:urine*; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000196:embryology / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000652:urine; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D016014:Linear Models; D016011:Normal Distribution; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000652:urine*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C063554:urinary gonadotropin fragment